Unknowingly Seducing
by Excuses
Summary: Haruhi's dad is out of town and...-Unknown story stuff yet  No plans-...  Basically I'm winging the story, better Summary coming later.  This is a HaruhixMori
1. Authors Notes

**Authors Note**

Dear Readers & Fans Of My Work (FMW),

I am please to inform you that I have finally started the long awaited story. I promised this story to my fans a while ago, when I wrote my last Ouran High School Host-Club fanfiction.

Since then some things came up and I was unable to write it. For one I got busy with a different non-fanfiction writing project. Then I had to putter around on MyAnimeList, but only for a couple of days. (Mainly to remember what animes I have and haven't seen. After a day of that I got started on the story but was informed that we would be losing internet for a month or two unless my dad found a new job. (Blame the economy, round here.)

My father could not get hired even with his many college degrees and I persisted to get a job. My father did not like the idea but I persuaded him to get me an application at one of the many grocery stores around here.

I was given the job the day after I turned in the application (lucky me) and now I have been working for a few weeks now, and now my internet is back on. (Obviously)

I am very thankful for my job; however it means I cannot upload frequently. I can only write on my two days off. This means only one or two chapters per week (most likely).

Please bear with me and accept my apologies for the belated upload.

My Sincerest Apologies,

**Excuses**

P.s. I said that my chapters would be longer in this story, when I mentioned it in my last story… However I became comfortable with that chapter length and with my new job and my writing skills not perfected I can't guarantee any longer than that of my last story. I will still try, for the sake of fans though.


	2. Super Special

**- Disclaimer: I ****Do Not**** Own "Ouran High School Host-Club" Or The Characters  
-This Applies to ****All Chapters.****  
-A/N: This is based on an anime (Japanese Animation) and thus the characters are Japanese, have Japanese names, and live in Japan; however I am NOT Japanese and thus fear making a mistake when it comes to their language and culture. (Since I am fond of the Japanese Culture I would hate to insult it with mistakes.) So I am writing in my countries format which is first names first. (And Ms./Mrs. or Mr. to be more elegant or unfamiliar.)**

**-I LOVE Reviews of Any Kind!**

**-IMPORTANT A/N TO READERS: Just so you know, I haven't read all, though I've read most of, the Ouran High School Host Club Manga. I have seen every anime episode but Takashi is still a mystery in the anime and I haven't fully grasped his interests yet. (I know he's good with martial arts though, obviously.) Sorry if some of what I write doesn't match something. Please Private message me or leave it in a review if something is a bit off and I will try to fix it in future chapters.**

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**11:23 PM (23:23) Takashi Morinozuka back-alley short-cut. (JAPAN)**  
The air was misty, the sky was pitch black, and very few stars could be seen in the sky because of the city lights; but it was a full moon and it shined so bright that one's eyes could not help, but be drawn to it. Takashi was no acceptation. He stared up into the sky as he passed a few trash cans and walked through an alley-way. It was a short cut to a book store he often visited.

Takashi had his hands in his gray-scale **(A/N**: Meaning it's all in shades of gray**)** camouflage pants, his red t-shirt hanging over his wrist slightly and his gray down, goose-feather, vest keeping him from the danger of being chilled. He continued walking down the alley way and before too long he came to the other side, where a nippy breeze blew by and hit him in the side.

Even such a powerful gust didn't bother Takashi at all as he took a sharp turn in the direction of the wind and wound up in front of the book store he had been longing to go to since that very morning, when he heard one of his favorite authors came out with a new book.

He took a step inside and the door hit the bell that had been placed above and behind the door so it would ring when someone came in.

**11:17 PM (23:17) Haruhi Fujioka on the Side walk. (JAPAN)  
**"I hope I'm not too late." Haruhi said to herself as she walked down the bustling sidewalk. It was around eleven o'clock at night and even the time did not thin the streets. Haruhi was walking though the middle of the city, trying to get to the last special of the day at the super market. She wore a pink strapped dress over a white t-shirt and jeans. She held her matching pink clutch, which contained her money, close to her to avoid teasing thieves.

"Watch it, missy." A voice said as Haruhi was pushed off balance by an unknown shoulder.  
"_People are so rude these days,"_ She thought to herself, as she regained balanced and continued pushing through the crowd.

The side-walk began to clear after Haruhi broke free of the wave of people that had swept her away. She checked her watch, still making sure to hold close to her clutch, to see whether or not the super-market had closed.

"Great!" she said as she excitedly and hastily went forward in her pursuit of tomorrow's food. Everyone looked at her for a second because of her sudden outburst, but quickly continued what they were doing.

Hobos pushing carts full of cans walked down the sidewalk and other homeless individuals just sat inside cardboard boxes set around a barrel fire. It was cold out, even though it was almost summer time, and Haruhi had forgotten a jacket. She assumed that the weather would obey the seasons but they did not.

A breeze blew by and Haruhi placed her hands on her shoulders as she shivered slightly for a moment. "_I don't have time to be cold,_" she told herself as she spotted the time on her watch. She began to run down the side walk and it was only but a few minutes before she stepped into the heated commoner's store.

Once Haruhi was inside she warmed herself up by rubbing her arms and then hastily continued her mission by grabbed a shopping basket. She headed down isle after isle, looking at a piece of paper she had pulled out of her clutch. A half an hour passed before she had filled her basket with every goodie that was on sale or had a special bonus deal. She went to the counter and put everything on the conveyer belt, before speedily walking to the bagger area.

"Sorry, most of the courtesy clerks went home already." The checker apologized as Haruhi began to bag her groceries, herself.  
"That's okay, I like bagging."  
"Oh, well alright; but what's a young girl doing on the streets at this hour?"  
"I wanted to catch the special before the store closed and I was busy all day,"  
"You're quiet the adult for your age," the woman said smiling. She looked rather young but had slight crow's feet around her eyes. She was most likely a single mom who worked two jobs and was stressed all the time.  
"Well my dad's out of town for a while and even though he told me to stay with friends I wanted to keep an eye on the house." Haruhi said, continuing to bag her own groceries.  
"That's very responsible of you."

The conversation continued for a little longer and after Haruhi had paid and taken her bags she said her good-byes and walked out the automatic doors. It was even closer to midnight and the sidewalks had cleared in the small amount of time she had been inside. The only things left now were cars driving by, their headlights glared in Haruhi's eyes as they headed in her direction. (And quickly passed by.)

She continued down the side walk for around twenty minutes when a trashcan could be heard falling over. The ruckus didn't even make Haruhi jump, as she just assumed it was just a cat and continued onward.

Left, right, left, right, each step made the plastic bags in her hands bounce slightly. She continued walking in her pink and white sneakers but she had to come to a stop. Several small thuds were heard, and the sound of something rolling on concrete got her attention; more so when she noticed her bags were losing weight.

"No, no, no, no, no!" she said out loud to herself as she hastily gathered as much as what had dropped as she could. Haruhi tied a knot where the whole had appeared and reopened the repaired bag. "Just great," she told herself as she bent down and began putting what was on the ground back in it.

Right when she thought it couldn't get worse she heard a voice from above her head. "Hey lady," it spoke, as if it were talking to her. She ignored it and continued refilling her bags with her own groceries when a shoe stomped on the small container of ice cream she had been going to pick up. "I said HEY LADY!" the owner of the shoe said as he bent down to eye level.

He was a scary man with bad, pointed sharp teeth and a dirty face. His smile reeked of a sadist and his breath smelled like shoes and onions. He wore a worn down black hoodie two red stripes going all the way around it. His hands were shoved in his hoodie's pockets and Haruhi looked him straight in the eyes as they both regained a straighter posture.

Haruhi had some cans in her arms that she had yet to drop into her repaired plastic bags and her little pint of ice cream was half squashed on the ground. She stared into his dark sadistic black eyes as he grinned mischievously. He smelled of trouble, among other things.

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**A/N: Sorry that it's not very long. Right when my internet came back on I wanted to upload this chapter I wrote, ASAP before going to bed. (Long days work today)**


	3. We're Out

**-A/N: I Am SOOO sorry **for** the long wait, I know I should have done better but I got so busy!**

**-I love all the reviews and **_**fans**_** I have gained while I was away, and apologies to those of you who were loyal enough to keep me under FAVs this whole time.**

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**11:32 PM (23:32) Takashi Morinozuka back-alley short-cut. (JAPAN)**

Takashi closed the door behind him as he took another step further into the dusty, damp bookstore, heated simply by one radiator that sat in the corner furthest away from anything flammable as it could. The temperature was cozy compared to outside and yet no change occurred on Takashi's face as he headed down a very narrow path toward a shelf on the other side of the store. The floor boards creaked with every step and they coughed dust, as if he tread on their diaphragm.

"You looking for the new one?" The owner, the only employee still around, asked as he looked away from the book twice his size, which he had been reading, unnoticed. The man stole Takashi gaze from the shelf, his attention now turned toward him, the one who held the answer to his silent question.  
"It's over there on that lower shelf, under the window, by the front door." The short, older man said as he pointed one stubby finger toward the entrance.

Takashi nodded in thanks as he headed in the direction he came; the floor boards, once more, coughing up dust, in agony. **(A/N: **I am aware of bowing… but since I'm one of them _Americans_ I felt awkward writing that as an action, rather than doing it myself.**)**

Takashi ran his hand over the tops of every book which sat on the shelf, as he crouched down to get a better look at the spines, hoping to spot the title or author by a simple quick glance.  
_"AH-HA!"_ or at least that's what some would say; Takashi finally found that which he had come all this way for; the new book was sitting there, smack in the center of the second shelf and Takashi smiled inside, his face trying so very hard to fight it. It was no use; the corner of his mouth went up slightly as he pulled the book off the shelf and opened it up to take a quick peek in the center. He caught one word, "Angst," and quickly shut it.

Now in a hurry, Takashi's stride lengthened and in just a few steps he was by the counter where he dropped a few yen and took the receipt which the owner had sluggishly given him.  
Once the book was his, with a receipt as a book mark, his stride returned to normal and he opened to page one, pushing the door open with one hand, not bothering to look where he was going.

…_**But he did not need sight to know who was in his presence when he stepped out of that store;**_

A slight breeze blew by, picking up the scent of Haruhi and caring it softly over to Takashi as he started to turn the other way; that scent, barely able to be smelled over the other wretched odder that accompanied it, however, made Takashi's heart skip a beat and he looked away from his book, in search of the source of the fragrance.  
"Watch what you say, kid!" the voice of a stranger said, his arm straight out, his body blocking the person in front of him from view. Takashi shifted his body toward his gaze and took a step to the side, trying to see if his worries were justified, hoping they weren't. Sadly they were. He looked around the man who resembled a shark to see Haruhi's face, her hands tugging at the giant hand that was wrapped around her neck.

"I could kill you for saying something so stupid." The crass voice said as the man took a step forward, toward an alley way. Two cronies laughing slightly in unison as they followed close behind their leader.  
Takashi took a step forward, casually, as if he had all the time in the world, and yet his strides length increased; height being his advantage.

The shark-like man pushed Haruhi up against a wall and began to tap her head on the wall, beginning gentle but gaining more power and strength with each thud. At this point Takashi's anger grew inside. Where was this man's sense of honor? Takashi took only a few more strides before he was right there behind the three men who looked as if they were possessed with arousal, their sadistic faces grinning more with each wince.

"Mori?" Haruhi questioned before her eyes shot closed with the next thud, this one being a bit more painful compared to the first one, thirty slams ago.

With his name spoken, Takashi had gained the attention of the three criminals and he looked down upon them with pity and anger.  
"What the he…?" The crass voice began to say but his words were cut short by Mori planting his palm in the man's face. In a split second he had knocked the shark-like man onto the ground with his bare palm and now he fended off two cronies as the man struggled to get up.

Even outnumbered it only took but a few kicks before the group was desperately trying to get away.  
"The chicks not worth it," One of the cronies said as he began to back down. At this point, the leader was willing to fight dirty. He flipped out a pocket knife, one he conveniently carried with him at all times, to apparently harass strange girls he'd never met. He came up on Takashi from behind and threw in a jab, his long slender knife just barely missing Takashi as he moved out of the way, once he sensed the incoming danger.

_**Sadly, Takashi had lost it… the one thing he got out of the house to get, his book… It slowly fell to the ground and landed in a puddle, its new pages ruined and now unreadable.**_

Takashi turned his head, glaring with even more rage now at the shark-like man who could feel the anger oozing out of him. "_Shit,_" The leader thought as he second guessed his decision in taking out the knife; that's when he fled; He, and his cronies, fled the scene of the crime, Haruhi holding her head, out of the corner of Takashi's eye.  
"Thank you," She said bowing, ever so slightly, at Takashi before glancing up at him to see he wasn't even looking at her.

He was staring at the book that sat in the puddle, ruined, and unreadable. He wished he hadn't dropped it but his heartache faded, relieved that Haruhi was safe; his mind was still on her, even with his new book, he had been waiting months for, sitting in a puddle in front of his eyes.

Takashi heard movement behind him; Haruhi was getting up and brushing herself off. She was hoping to find her groceries still on the sidewalk where she had dropped them, trying hard to ignore the slight guilt she was feeling.  
She slipped out of the alley, hoping Takashi wouldn't see, but failing at the stealthy moves she wished she had.  
Takashi followed her as she left the alley and spotted the groceries in the middle of the empty sidewalk.

Haruhi sped over to them, piling them into the knotted grocery sacks. Takashi hovered over her, not bothering to help, knowing shed refuse more help than he had already given. He stared down at her as she reached for the slightly smashed pint of homemade vanilla ice-cream.

"Quit lookin' at me like that," she said as she picked up the pint and tossed it in a nearby trash bin.  
Takashi continued staring at her, in the same way; trying to imprint his thoughts on the back of her head.  
"_I wished your ignorance was somewhere else,_" He said inside his head. He knew she was a smart girl, but when it came to how cruel people could be in this world, she seemed to be somewhat ignorant and as to her limits, she was ignorant there as well.

"Look, I'm sorry about the book; you know you didn't have to help me, I would have been fine." Haruhi said causing Takashi to slump; his face became planted in his right palm. His gaze had been misread and aside from that all he wanted to do was make her safe, not make her sorry. He looked over at the book that was most defiantly ruined and he walked back into the cold damp alley, picking it up by the soggy cover and carried it back to the bookstore, whence it came.

Haruhi stood up, her bags once again full, and looked in threw the window to see Takashi standing in front of the logging counter, holding the book up to the owner.  
"Sorry kid, that's was the last one." The owner said, Haruhi unable to hear from outside. Takashi slamming his head down on an invisible surface and began to head out in the cold once again, dropping the book in the trash on his way out, disappointment dripping of him as if he was soaking wet. At least he had Haruhi, safely by his side.

With that Haruhi began to head home with her groceries, Takashi trailing close behind.

•

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait and sorry for the short chapter and yes I am aware I've lost my touch while I stopped writing; but I've always had a problem with writing. Once I get an idea I end up rushing it and become less descriptive… its terrible. THIS IS WHY I WRITE FANFICTION… For practice (And I love Anime + Manga.)**

**Again, SORRY, SORRY!**

**A/N P.S: I am aware I have plenty of typos misspellings and incorrect grammar… I don't have time to fix it right away anymore, and I defiantly don't have time to catch it myself this time. Please help by leaving a paragraph number along with the word and sentence in a review (Don't forget to review the story in general as well).**


	4. On Hold

**-A/N: Okay, Once again I am so very sorry. It's been months… Literally MONTHS…I know…and I am so sorry I've been so busy with work and other stuff, it's ridiculous… I also lost internet twice since my last chapter, bills have been piling up and UGH! The problematic life of becoming an adult… Anyway…I finally…FIIIINALLLY…have learned how to deal with being busy and dealing with my video game and anime obsession. (For a while there I felt as if I had to choose work or fun…) and now…  
-YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WAIT MONTHS FOR AN UPDATE!**

**- I'm back and I am so sorry about the long wait that it makes my heart itself aches! *cries and sniffles***

**VERY IMPORTANT A/N: I will be MOVING In August. That is the only time you will have to wait again.  
Its time to get back to my dream of being a famous author some day!  
I hope my fans came back and I hope you all enjoy this chapter:**

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**12:04 AM (00:04)**** Haruhi Fujioka on the Side walk. (JAPAN)**

Haruhi looked over her shoulder, her eyes on Takashi, but her mind elsewhere. Her heart sank from the slight guilt she was feeling, however she continued to hide it and turned back around. Takashi raised a curious eyebrow but continued his usual silence and stalked closely behind her.  
"I'll be fine, you know. So you don't have to follow me home." She said, trying hard to comfort him. Silence was the only response she received before sighing and trying again. "Shouldn't you be with Mitsukuni?" she asked, trying, once again, to persuade him away. But, once again, Takashi didn't budge. He continued to follow behind her and before long his long stride brought him to her side. He glanced at her from time to time, as she did the same and before long her apartment complex was seen in the distance.

A breeze blew by and Haruhi shivered, her shoulders going up from the cold. Takashi slipped off his down vest and draped it over her, quickly looking away. Haruhi glanced at him, as they continued, in silence, toward her building.  
"Thank you," She said, looking at him. As they grew closer to her building, Haruhi finally gave up on trying to shoo him away. She sighed and began thinking of what to tell him.

Her thoughts wondered as they went up the stairs and stopped in front of her apartment number. She glanced at him to see if he would leave now. However, it seemed he wasn't going to budge until he was sure she was safely inside or with her father. "_I suppose that would be just like him, wouldn't it?" _She thought to herself as she messed with the handles of her plastic bags. She strung them all onto a single arm as she struggled to hold them all. Stubborn, however, she was, and she continued trying to bear the weight herself as she fumbled with the clasp on her purse. Slowly the weight began to be lifted. It took a few seconds for Haruhi to notice what Takashi was doing.  
"I've…" She began but quickly changed her mind as to what to say. "Thanks" She said. It seemed her night was full of appreciation.

She returned to looking for a glimpse of her key and found it in all but a minute after relinquishing the bags. She quickly took it out, snapping the purse closed, and slide the key into its hole. She turned it one direction then the other before opening the door and turning on the lights. Takashi looked past her and into the empty apartment. It seemed nobody was home. He looked at the spot where her father was usually caught drinking, before turning his attention back to Haruhi, giving her a look with a very obvious meaning.  
"He's still at work" She said, trying to reassure him.

Haruhi walked in, followed by Takashi as they both took off their shoes and continued into the empty apartment. He set the groceries on the counter before walking over to the table and sitting down where he made himself at home. Haruhi set her stuff down on the already cluttered table, before digging through the plastic sacks and beginning to put things away. She opened the fridge and tossed in a few items, before asking, "Would you like anything?" her head still in the fridge, letting the cool air escape.

She peeked over the door, knowing it was the only way to get a response from the tall, silent mystery. Takashi shook his head no, and continued looking dead ahead, deep in thought, silently observing his surroundings.

Haruhi closed the fridge behind her, after grabbing a soft-drink.  
_"I wonder what he's always thinking about…" _She wondered as she turned back around and took the now empty plastic sacks off the counter and tossed them off to the side for recycling.  
_"Is he planning to stick around until dad gets home?"_ she thought, as she walked over to the table. She handed Takashi his vest back and watched as he slipped it back on. She sat down beside him, and turned all the books that littered the table toward her. She glanced at him one more time before sighing and beginning her school work where she had left off.

**9:23 AM (09:23) Haruhi Fujioka at home. (JAPAN)**

Haruhi woke abruptly from her sleep. She looked around to see where she was, not remembering having gone to bed last night. The first thing she saw, when looking around, was Takashi's sleeping face. She, from the angle that she saw his face, instantly knew where she was. She bolted up right and looked around again. She had fallen asleep at the table and somehow wound up using Takashi's lap as a pillow. She felt her covers begin to slide and she grabbed them before they slipped further off of her. That's when she noticed it was Takashi's vest again. That's when she woke up enough to remember what happened yesterday. She shook her head and began to think… "_I guess it's too late now… I have to tell him."_

She stood up and set his vest on the table in front of her. She brushed herself off and wondered how long he would sleep, before continuing to grab her clutch and key, brushing herself off one more time, trying to rid herself of wrinkled cloths. She looked at Takashi one more time before slipping on her shoes. She silently turning the deadbolt and opening the door. She turned around and tried to close the door as silently as she could as she slipped out, hoping he would be sleep until she got back.

She continued down the stairs, passing her landlady with a good-morning hello. She listened to the sounds of passing cars and the bustling city as she continued down the sidewalk, trying to remember where it was she was going.  
"It has to be around here somewhere," She spoke to herself as she looked around, trying to make her way through the crowd. She continued toward her supermarket, hoping she'd spot it on the way there. That's when she saw it. She smiled and ran to the light and she pushed a button. She waited several minutes before the lights changed and she ran across.

The bell rang as she entered the book store. The same old man that she saw through the window was there at the desk. "_I wonder if he's slept yet," _She questioned before glancing at the hours on the door. It seems they had just opened. She turned her attention to the garbage can which sat next to her, between a book shelf and the door, hoping that the book was still at the bottom of it.

Her wish had been granted. Inside the trash can sat the still damp book, with all but a few pieces of paper on top of it. It had dried some since last night; however there was too much water and nowhere else for it to go. She reached in and pulled out the book, surprised that it was still damp, and flipped through the pages to see just how bad off it was. The ink was blurred from dirt and at times it was hard to make out the words. She sighed and closed the book before walking up to the desk, where the old man sat, holding the same book that was twice his size.

"Excuse me," she said, having already got his attention when rummaging through his trash.  
"Do you have another copy of this?" She asked, holding up the damaged book. He looked from her to the book and back, before shaking his head and speaking.  
"Sorry, no; and we won't be getting anymore in for several more days." He explained before climbing off of his stole and walking over to the counter. "Would you like me to put one on hold for you?"  
"Yes please, and may I have this copy?" She asked, still holding up the book for him to see.

The man didn't bother looking up from his papers that he began to fill out, per her request. Instead he lifted a hand and pushed air with the back of his hand. "That is up to you. If you don't mind that its damaged and came out of a garbage can then there shouldn't be a problem."  
"Thank you"  
"Who is going to be picking up the book?"  
"What?"  
"The book you wanted me to hold for you… whose name should I use?"

Haruhi thought about it for a moment while she turned around and headed toward the door. Before leaving she smiled and turned back around.  
"Takashi Morinozuka…"


	5. Friendly Surprise

**A/N: As always: I LOVE REVIEWS! Please leave as many as you'd like. I' very much enjoy them. Lots of love from the author; Enjoy~**

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**11:02 AM (11:02)**** Takashi Morinozuka in Haruhi Fujioka's Apartment. (JAPAN)**

That morning Takashi woke, leaning against a wall, his legs half under a table. The birds chirping and a running blow drier could be heard in the background as he opened his eyes slowly, only to see an unfamiliar ceiling. He took a deep breath before bringing his head down and looking around the small place that he was yet to be use to. Not being fully awake made his memory slightly blurred. He knew he was at Haruhi's… He could tell by the look of the place and the scent of her that was everywhere. He blinked and rubbed his right eye as the blow drier continued in the background.

Several minutes passed as he struggled to fully wake. He furrowed his brow and tried to think of last night. He remembered going to the book store before his memories finally caught up with him. "_Her dad never came home,_" Was all he thought as he turned his head to look in the direction of the noise. There was a sudden click and the background noise had abruptly stopped. Movement was heard and a sound that was unrecognizable came with it. Takashi furrowed his brow again, out of curiosity, but didn't bother moving; he wasn't going to invade Haruhi's privacy.

Takashi's face slightly reddened as he simply thought of the idea of invading her privacy. Just what would he be walking into, if he did? He tried to calm himself and by doing so he realized that her father very well could have come home after they had fallen asleep. Takashi began to over think the situation and started to panic. He looked around, half flustered and half confused. The click of a bathroom door opening was heard and Takashi raced to hide his discomposure and straightened his posture.

Haruhi stepped into the room, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, holding something in her arms. Takashi was relieved that it wasn't her father he had heard, and turned to look up at Haruhi's pretty face. She smiled and bent down to eye level with him, after quickly realizing he was awake.  
"Morning," She said, smiling. Takashi raised an eyebrow and tried to steal a peek at what she was hiding behind her arms. "Would you like anything?" She asked as she stood up and continued into the kitchen, not bothering to let him catch a glimpse.

Haruhi had eaten something after she got home from the book store; however, she was more than willing to get something for Takashi. He had been there for some time and had yet to eat something. She looked over her shoulder to see his response, only to get a no.  
"You must be hungry," She said before setting the secret on the counter and opening the fridge. She looked inside and searched for sandwich makings. Takashi looked up at the ceiling and sighed, knowing Haruhi's kind heart would have her making him food no matter what he said. He sighed as his stomach growled; he was just glad she couldn't hear it. He didn't want her wasting their food and yet he was content, and happily so.

Haruhi pulled out several things from the fridge and tried to balance them all in her hand. Takashi began to get up to help her but before he was halfway up she had made everything to the counter. She rearranged everything neatly amongst the counters and pulled out a plate, a knife, and a loaf of bread.  
"Stay there. I don't want you seeing your surprise." She said before changing the subject. "I hope you don't mind a sandwich." She opened the mayo and began to spread it over the slices of bread she had pulled out of the bag.

Takashi stared at the ceiling, as usually, as Haruhi put the second slice of bread on top of the stack and closed the Mayo. She piled everything back into the fridge as Takashi silently watched, his mind still on when he first woke up. "_I wonder why I heard the blow-drier_" He thought as he leaned back on his hands, his legs sliding further under the table. He glanced at what Haruhi had set on the counter, before she picked it up on the way to bringing him the sandwich.  
"When you're done eating you can see it." She said, having caught him trying to steal a peek.

She set the sandwich on the table, placing it in front of him. He looked from it to Haruhi. He didn't have to say anything for her to know what he was thinking as he stared at her with thoughtful eyes.  
"I already ate while you were still asleep." She said, still hiding what looked like a book behind her. She stared at him and watched closely, making sure he had at least a bite. He stared at it for a minute before looking back at Haruhi, then back again. Finally, however, he picked up a triangle of it, looked at Haruhi one more time, and took a bite. Haruhi smiled and brought the surprise in front of her, continuing to hide it behind her arms.  
"I'll be right back," She said before making her way out of the room.

Takashi continued silently eating as he looked around her apartment. As he was fully awake now he was able to think of last night. "_I wonder where her dad is._" He thought as a crumb fell from the sandwich triangle he held in his hand. He continued nibbling on the sandwich and before too long he came to the last few bites. The blow-drier could be heard again and Takashi's mind wondered. He stared at his last bite and wondered what Mitsukuni was doing.

For so long Mitsukuni was his only way out of the loneliness he felt. Some would say that might be why he is so loyal to Mitsukuni, however some would be wrong. His loyalty is both because of his great sense of honor and his fondness of Mitsukuni. Being the escape from his loneliness only made those bonds stronger.

Takashi heard the click of the blow-drier and the sudden silence that came after it. There was a clamber then the sound of a door opening. Takashi turned his attention to the door where he saw Haruhi standing in the distance. She was wrapped in a towel with another smaller towel draped on her head. Takashi's face turned completely red as she turned and looked at him.  
"Sorry," She said, blushing slightly and tugging at the bottom of the towel wrapped around her, hoping it would become longer. She held it on securely at the top, with the other hand, as she walked quickly to her room and closed the door behind her. Sadly, it was too late. Takashi's mind had already gone there. He innocently tried to back pedal his own thoughts, however he couldn't; his mind was already in the gutter. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt himself becoming more and more uncomfortable, panicking as he did so.

He opened his eyes and tried to ignore it. He stared at the ceiling, trying to keep his mind away from the filth it otherwise would be rolling in, as he heard the sliding of a door. He quickly turned the other way, as he heard footsteps and the pitter patter of bare, damp feet walking across the floor. Back and forth they went before too long they grew closer to him.  
"Takashi?" a voice spoke from behind him. Haruhi hovered over him as he continued to keep her out of sight.  
"mm?" He mumbled, wondering if he should brave turning around.

Haruhi smiled and bent her knees and wrapped one arm around her legs. She poked him with the corner of what was in the other hand and quickly hid it between her thighs and her chest. Takashi turned around to see Haruhi, to his relief and yet ever so slight disappointment, fully clothed. She smiled and stood up, continuing to hide her surprise.  
"I see you finished your sandwich." She said, before scooting the plate away. "Close your eyes."

Takashi listened to her and closed his eyes. He heard a few noises and his heart skipped a beat, simply from his realization of how much he loved her. He was excited that she had a surprise for him and that, like many other things did, made him realize just how much. The thought made him both happy and heartbroken at the same time. He wished she saw it, he wished she knew, and he wished, more than anything, that she loved him too. She was far too kind and she never could understand when someone loved her.

"Okay… Open them!" He heard her speak. He was jerked back into reality by her voice as he slowly opened his eyes. In front of him lye what appeared to be an old tattered book. He blinked at the familiar title and stared. He leaned in a bit more, after realizing it was the same book that he had thrown away. He looked at her with astonishment. He was amazed. She had restored the book to reading condition; the same book he thought was ruined.  
"Well?" She questioned, leaning down beside him.

•

**A/N: I didn't rush this chapter… Honestly I didn't… But for some reason I keep rereading it and it sounds rushed. D:! Please review. Both compliments and criticism are welcome and hopefully if there's criticism it's the constructive kind. Thank you lots… and once again I am sorry for the long wait for last chapter… That chapter was so hard to write because it seemed nothing really happened in it. I mean honestly… all they did was go home together… nothing fun or interesting happened at all... I'm terrible at writing things when nothing happens… but I hate cheesy stuff that has drama every paragraph… That's why practice makes perfect, right? :D**


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